Tania

Hi there,

I'm doing 3 weeks in Thailand next summer, with 5 days in Bangkok. The riverfront seems to be the way to go, and so far, Bossotel is the frontrunner. (I need to stay at a place for less than 2500 baht a night.) Here are my questions, and if you could answer any of them, it would be much appreciated:

1) Has anyone stayed at the Bossotel before, and would you recommend it?

2) Are there reasonably priced, good restaurants in walking distance to the hotel(situated right near the Shangri-la)? I've found virtually nothing on the internet about the night life around that area of the riverfront.

3) Are there any hotels that I'm missing that are in the same area, in the same price range, that are worth looking in to?

Thanks in advance,
Tania

rhkkmk

let me say a couple of things...the person to ask about this is jamesA who announced yesterday on this board that he was going away for a week while pres. bush and others are in bkk....so you need to ask this question again in about a week and i am sure he will answer you....

restaurants...there are quite a few restaurants at different levels of cost within walking distance of the shangra-la...harmonique is on soi 34, off of new road; hinali cha cha (great indian) is opposite this soi and down towards the oriental a bit; the hotels have great restaurants; the river city complex has a number of restaurants...; on the other side of the river there are a couple of outdoor restaurants; there are many restaurants in this area and silom and sathorn roads are very close by, plus the sky train is just next to the shangra-la....no problem for food

can't help with hotel, but james will...he recently answered a similar question....search here for his comments

Tania

rhkkmk,

Thanks so much for the info about the proximity of restaurants. Good to know that on some nights I'll be able to stay in walking distance of my hotel (whichever it may be.)
As to the hotel question, I'll repost it again next week for JamesA, when he returns.

tania

Marilyn

Tania, check out the Centre Point Silom, an executive serviced apartment. We have stayed there twice and think it is one of the best deals we have found anywhere in the world.

The internet price is 2300 baht for the smallest studio, which will be like a good-sized hotel room with a full kitchen (washer/dryer included). Rate includes breakfast. Internet access in lobby (we were never charged for it). 1/2 block to Skytrain and river taxis. Fantastic, helpful staff. Hotel has a pool and workout room. Let me know if you want more info.

http://www.asiatravel.com/thailand/c...intsi/si1.html

orgy7

as far as entertainment the riverfront dosnt have much of a night life.. im not too sore but from reading these posts i gather that the Davis hotel is near the river if so.. it has the current hot club in town.. where you eat thai food in a bed and party til 2 AM..

what kind of entertainment are you looking for?.. since you say you will be near the skytrain it should be no prob getting too any place.


marilyn is dead on.. apartments are the best value in town as I've preached for years in this forum. and center points are actually a bargain for what you get..

Tania

Marilyn,

I did a Google search last night, trying to get as much information as I could about Centre Point Silom, and the WOW factor is huge. Thank you so much for the heads up! I've also bookmarked a couple of sites that have the Studio going for $55 US. So this is obviously now a frontrunner. I DID notice, though, that none of the websites mentioned anything about air conditioning. It IS air conditioned, no??

Orgy7,
I'm not looking for anything wild in terms of nightlife, as I'm a 40 something year old, traveling solo for the first time in Asia. My days of "hot clubs and eating Thai food in a bed and partying till 2AM" are long gone. (boo hoo hoo). If there are good restaurants, night markets, cool scenery and subdued bars/clubs to take in at night, then I'm a happy camper. (that's what I'm hoping for on the riverfront)

tania

rhkkmk

i'm sure it has a/c as it is only about 2 years old...
this is a good bet to meet your requirements...location/price

make sure you post after your visit....i can't figure out the swimming pool situation...could you mention that when you post after your visit...
it is very close to silom and patpong so there is lots of nite life.....!!!!

the davis hotel is on a soi (20-30) off of sukumvit

Marilyn

Just to clarify a few points: Centre Point Silom is fairly new, but definitely more than 2 years old. Yes, there is air con. It is not only comfortable, but pretty luxurious. Marble bathrooms. Hardwood floors. Etc.

And if you want me to rave even more, let me tell you that the hotel is connected to a Robinson's department store where you can purchase anything you need, and there is a full supermarket in the basement to stock your kitchen, and a food court on the top floor with great values for lunch.

The pool is outdoors and it is just a regular swimming pool on a sort of terrace. Same level as the breakfast room/restaurant. The restaurant will deliver room service to you as well.

I used to mention this hotel all the time when I first came on fodors, but I stopped because it seemed most people preferred the luxury hotels since they were also good value compared to the rest of the world.

I don't know anything about the other Centre Point properties, but Silom is great. If you want to spend a little more money, you would not BELIEVE the size of the 1-BR apt which is what we got the first time. It's enormous.

dywong

We are also big on serviced apartments since we travel with our 2 kids and stay in BKK for extended periods (2 mo). Centre Point is nice but I'd suggest Somerset Lakepoint in Sukuhmvit soi 16. It is also very nicely decorated, with granite baths and hardwood floors, but also has room service, two pools, squash courts, fully equiped work-out rooms and yoga sessions. The staff is also very, very nice and they have their own tuk tuk to take you anywhere local. Security is also very good.
By the way, the Davis hotel is on Soi 24, not close to the river at all, but very nice from what I have seen going by in a tuk tuk/taxi- it is close but not exactly walking distance to the Emporium mall which I'd respectfully say seems more upscale than Robinsons- at least my wife prefers shopping there.
My own private pleasure in BKK after a long, hot day of whatever; when you least want to go out and hassle with the traffic, see people, or find your way to the restaurant, is to stop off at the Food Court in the Emporum and get it all to go. You will find such an unbelieveable selection of fresh sushi, Thai, Chinese and other foods, not to mention deserts from the Oriental Hotel, that you might never be tempted to eat out again. Perhaps best of all, it will all be very inexpensive.
Have a great time.

dywong

Please ignore the above comments about pleasures of the Emporium. While true, I confused the Centre Point Silom with the Centre Point Sukumvit.

Marilyn

Ok, if we're clarifying points, let me say that I wasn't particularly suggesting Robinson's for shopping. I just meant that if you needed something (e.g., my husband's suitcase fell apart on the flight over) it was handy to have it there, especially the food market in the basement, since there is a full kitchen in each hotel room/suite.

orgy7

Tania.. I guess your staying in the right place then..

dywong thanks for "the look out" on the Davis hotel.. hell it's better for me..

Tania

Thanks everyone, for your imput. So Centre Point Silom it is.

Marilyn, I'd emailed them directly through their site, and just got a very friendly reply from one of their sales executives. Turns out that their small studio (45sqm) is $60 US but it's a city view apartment, BUT I can get a RIVERview studio (at 66 sqm) for $68! 8 dollars more for 1/3 more space and a great view!
The only potential snag in scooping up that great deal is that I'm not buying my plane ticket till January (when August flights become available with EVA Air)and I'm gonna have to see what the exchange rates are (I live in Toronto). Right now, the CDN dollar is insanely strong, so 66 US is only 85 CDN. If our dollar goes through a sizeable drop between now and January, I may have to stick with the 45 sqm city view room (as this is a 3 week plus trip, I'm already pushing my budget to the max by staying at Centre Point!). But assuming our dollar stays strong, I'm definitely gonna stick with the larger river view room.

Again, thank you SO much for the heads up about the Centre Point! See? Your enthusiasm paid off and you got another "convert"!!

tania

Marilyn

Tania, that's great, but if you are on a tight budget, don't go for the larger room because of the river view. It is not what you imagine and you will probably be disappointed in the view. I have to run this minute, but I will post tonight with more info to explain.

Tania

Marilyn,
Explain!!! Explain!!!!

Marilyn

Tania, the hotel is actually about a block back from the river, not right ON the river. And because of the way it is constructed, I suppose to minimize the sun's heat, the windows are sort of set back. So you envision a beautiful terrace or large windows overlooking the river, but that is not what it's like.

There is a concrete balcony that you could go out on from the living room of our 1 BR. You had to be out on the balcony to really see the river. But it was narrow, felt dirty from big city smog, and while you could see the river, it just was not a pleasant place to be. No chairs or anything to sit on. A fair amount of noise from hotel systems (generators?) like air con that were on the roof below. And then it's so hot and muggy and dirty in Bangkok that after the novelty wore off (that was 5 min for me) we had zero interest in being outside. Stepping out on the balcony was like going "backstage" into the grungy working side rather than "on stage" into a romantic terrace with drinks and sun umbrellas.

The extra space is probably worth the small additional money, but the river view is almost certainly not what you are imagining. Don't let this put you off the hotel, however. It was the only aspect we found disappointing -- otherwise we were thrilled.

Tania

Marilyn,
Thanks so much for the info. Always good to enter into accomodation situations with eyes wide open. I'm settled on staying there anyway! I've already been showing people at work the 360 degree tour of the (smaller) unit from the Centre Point web site, and they couldn't believe the price for that level of luxury! Larger studio or smaller, either way I come out a winner. I'll decide on which to go for once I buy my plane ticket and start making hotel reservations for the trip.

tania

rhkkmk

tania---you've worn us out....